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SF Jae'Sean Tate (2018 2nd team All B1G, Houston Rockets)

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"We know what we're doing."

AKA

"Everyone relax...I got this."
 
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It was purely coincidental, Jae?Sean Tate said, that two of his best friends are at or headed to Michigan and that he chose this particular week to let them and everyone else know he won?t be joining them.

The Pickerington Central junior was at his kitchen table with his father on Monday night, discussing whether it was time for him to commit to a college basketball program, when he received a text message from Ohio State coach Thad Matta asking if there was a good time to talk.

Matta and assistant Jeff Boals were in Illinois watching their latest commitment, 2014 forward Keita Bates-Diop, who had pledged to the Buckeyes on Sunday. When Matta called Tate about 11 p.m., Tate told him he could pencil in another prospect for the class.

?My dad had approached me on it (Monday) and asked me if I knew for sure what my decision was going to be,? Jae?Sean said yesterday. ?With Keita committing and there being only a couple more scholarships left (for 2014), I just didn?t want my dream to slip by.?

Ohio State coaches are targeting two wings, a point guard and a center for the 2014 class, Tate said, ?and when Keita committed, that took away one of the wing spots. I didn?t want the other one to slip away.?

Tate, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing, helped Pickerington Central win its first Division I championship last season. Two of his teammates were Caris LeVert, a freshman guard at Michigan this season, and Taco Charlton, headed there to play football next season. Tate?s choice was between Ohio State and Michigan.

?Of course, there?s always going to be that Michigan-Ohio State battle,? Tate said, ?but they support me and they?re happy for me, and I?m happy for them.?
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more Interesting
 
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Jae?Sean Tate didn?t plan to play football for Pickerington Central this season, but when the basketball team?s preseason open gyms were not enough to satisfy his appetite for competition, he rejoined his teammates for the last half of the season.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound junior who committed on Monday to play basketball at Ohio State, did well enough as a pass rusher off the edge that some Big Ten schools were interested enough to contact him.

Now, Tate is wondering whether he could play both sports at Ohio State.

?I?m really flip-flopping? about whether to play football as a senior next season, he said. ?I actually talked to my (football) coach (on Tuesday) and he talked about Ohio State football may be offering me a scholarship, and maybe talking to coach (Thad) Matta to see if he would be OK with that.?

Given the fact that basketball is now a year-round endeavor at the level Ohio State plays and that Tate is a top-50 recruit, Matta seems unlikely to embrace that.
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Rumblings
 
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Tate is from Pickerington, Ohio, and helped Pickerington Central High School capture the state championship last year.

?He?s an outstanding young man with a beautiful family,? said Pickerington Central coach Jerry Francis. ?He?s a great role model for young kids wanting to go to Ohio State.?

Tate is also a member of the All-Ohio Red AAU team, which has sent talent to the Buckeyes in the past. Former OSU players Michael Redd, Jon Diebler, and Jared Sullinger represented All-Ohio Red, as well as current Buckeye point guard Aaron Craft.

Bossi has had the chance to watch Tate perform on the AAU circuit. Both he and Francis emphasized Tate?s motor, aggressiveness, and willingness to defend.

?A lot of kids talk about playing hard and going all out, but he just does it,? Bossi said. ?He?s going to be a tough, physical defender.?

For Tate, coming to OSU might finally be the realization of a long-awaited vision.

?It?s every Ohio boy?s dream,? he said.

Matta?s ability as a recruiter, however, has been well-documented in the past, and he might have had an intricate role in Tate?s recruitment.

?I was just sure about how everything [Coach Matta] said to me, I knew he was telling me the truth,? Tate said. ?I have no second thoughts about changing my commitment.?

Although Bates-Diop and Tate play the same position, their skill sets may be viewed as complementary.

?I like both these guys a lot,? Bossi said. ?Keita is longer, more smooth. Jae?Sean is mean and nasty. You can play these guys together and it makes you really flexible against defenses.?
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http://www.thelantern.com/sports/th...state-men-s-basketball-1.2968181#.UMo7-Hfhd7Q
 
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